As a multidisciplinary artist, I concentrate mostly in the mediums of glassblowing, glass casting, performance art, curation, and installation. Within my work, I reside in three main areas of focus revolving around my own personal experience. The first theme that continuously is shown throughout my works is my relationship with food, which has been a challenge all my life because of my severe food allergies. I have explored this concept through performance, installations, and most recently the glass casting of my piece, “Bakers Delight Part 3” to convey the theme of unrequited desire for foods that are forbidden to me.
The second area of interest explores my Armenian ancestry. Through the learning and preserving of Janyak, traditional Armenian Needlelace, I seek to conserve a cultural craft that has been in my family's heritage. My great-grandmother sought to preserve Armenian lace making and embroidery after surviving the Armenian Genocide during World War I. After exploring this connection to Janyak, I began to better understand the visuals and materials I had already been exploring in my glass courses, such as doilies and other forms of decorative lace. As the daughter of Armenian-Portuguese parents, and the great-grandchild of a survivor of genocide, I am currently trying to reconcile and uncover the history of my family, a heritage which has been lost in my years being raised as an American.
Finally, the last thematic idea I explore through my work involves my response to women’s rights. Growing up identifying as female, I have formed very strong opinions about how the objectification of women has impacted women like me. Throughout history, women have been expected to perform as ultra-feminine beings, when that generalization does not fit the majority of women trying to find their own identity. I explore and defy the conventional ideal of what a woman should be through my work.
